Stanford’s plethora of talent to test ASU women’s basketball

In Stanford’s last game, Chiney Ogwumike, arguably the best player in college women’s basketball and projected No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, went 12 of 13 for 24 points plus 12 rebounds. And the Cardinal shot 15 of 32 from 3-point range.

That doesn’t seem fair. “I think it’s fair for us,” laughs Ogwumike, plenty happy for the perimeter offensive support. “We’ve always been confident in our shooters. It’s a matter of setting screens for them and them being in rhythm. Shooting is contagious. We go with whoever is getting the job done.”

The 6-foot-4 Ogwumike is killing it in her senior season, averaging 27.1 points and 11.8 boards going into Monday night’s game at Arizona State. She has won six of the first 10 Pac-12 Player of the Week awards, no doubt on her way to repeating as Pac-12 Player of the Year. Her sister Nneka, now in the WNBA, was Player of the Year in 2010 and ’12.

“I have the most unselfish teammates,” Chiney said, deflecting her achievements, including her viral rap hit “Nerd City Kids.” “They pass up open shots because I have good position under the basket. It’s the unselfish nature of our team and putting everything on the line to get a win.”

“We were young and a different team in November,” Ogwumike said. “We’re constantly evolving in a good way.” She believes the UConn loss “set the tone for the year so we know how hard to go. It’s about being at your best when you need to be.”

Stanford fell short of the NCAA Final Four for the first time in six years last season, losing in a Sweet 16 game to Georgia. “Our goal shouldn’t be just to go to the Final Four,” Ogwumike said. “It should be to win the Final Four. We’re trying to do everything national-championship caliber.”

ASU last beat Stanford in February 2006, dropping 14 straight since. But the No. 19 Sun Devils (15-2) are coming off a win over No. 15 California, a Final Four team last year, and so far this season have not hit their ceiling.

“They’re a great transition team, great rebounding team,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “You don’t want to let Ogwumike go 1-on-1, so who do you help off? You’ve just got to work really hard and make them earn everything. Try not to give them anything too easy. This is the best 3-point shooting team Stanford has had in awhile. Now they’re back to having that dominant inside player with shooters all over the perimeter. We’ve got to guard them enough to make them miss. It’ll be by committee with Ogwumike.”

Turner Thorne, with 317 wins at ASU, is second behind Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer (758) for the most victories at a Pac-12 school. Turner Thorne played for VanDerveer at Stanford from 1985-88.

Seeking $6 million men

That extra $6 million burning a hole in your pocket? Arizona State will erect a statue in your honor if you’re willing to donate that much toward the renovation of Sun Devil Stadium.

ASU is seeking six $6-million men (or women) to be founding partners in its $50-million fund-raising campaign to help pay for the $225-million stadium project. As the private donors most responsible for the upgrade, their statues will greet ASU football fans for the next half century or so.

The renovation also will include expansion of the Carson Center athletic department facility at the south end of the stadium. Two new athletic donors already have pledged $1 million each towards the stadium project.

The current project to remove the upper deck north end zone, taking out 5,700 seats, is expected to be completed by the spring football game in April.

Beauty and the Beast

ASU’s inaugural Beauty and the Beast meet — wrestling vs. Boise State and women’s gymnastics vs. California at the same time — is at 5 p.m. Friday at Wells Fargo Arena. The Pac-12 Network will televise the wrestling portion.

Reach Metcalfe at 602-444-8053 or jeff.metcalfe@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him at twitter.com/jeffmetcalfe.

Up next

No. 4 Stanford at No. 19 ASU Women

When: Monday at 5 p.m.

Where: Wells Fargo Arena.

TV/Radio: Pac-12 AZ/KAZG-AM (1440).

ASU update: Eliza Normen is expected back from back spasms that kept her out against California on Friday. Quinn Dornstauder, who scored a team-high 13 points in 19 minutes, will continue to get more time going forward, coach Charli Turner Thorne said. ASU (15-2, 4-1 Pac-12) has won four straight and 14 of its last 15.

Posting a comment to our website allows you to join in on the conversation. Share your story and unique perspective with members of the azcentral.com community.

Comments posted via facebook:

► Join the Discussion

Join the conversation! To comment on azcentral.com, you must be logged into an active personal account on Facebook. You are responsible for your comments and abuse of this privilege will not be tolerated. We reserve the right, without warning or notification, to remove comments and block users judged to violate our Terms of Service and Rules of Engagement. Facebook comments FAQ

Join thousands of azcentral.com fans on Facebook and get the day's most popular and talked-about Valley news, sports, entertainment and more - right in your newsfeed. You'll see what others are saying about the hot topics of the day.